|
Post by Nalkarj on Feb 21, 2018 15:30:39 GMT
I adore folklore, especially being up here in New England, where the very air is full of spirits (even on an uncharacteristically hot day like this one!). Somewhere around these boards, I offered my own retelling of the Jonathan Moulton story… Anyhoo, just found this blog— newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/2013/02/black-agnes-statue-that-kills.html—and it’s excellent. The story to which I’ve linked is “Black Agnes,” in Montpelier, Vt., and I found that particularly intriguing: I grew up on Long Island, NY, and near the town of Huntington there’s a supposedly haunted road, appropriately called “Mount Misery Road.” And, wouldn’t y’know, there’s a cemetery on the side of the road, with a Black Agnes statue and identical legend as well. Snopes tells us that several communities have “killing statue” legends, but I find it very curious that they should have the same name!
|
|
|
Post by MCDemuth on Feb 22, 2018 22:25:04 GMT
Many communities have nearly identical legends about haunted railroad bridges too... and there's one within half an hour from where I live... I originally posted about this here: imdb2.freeforums.net/post/272231I did some “Legend-Tripping” and went out to see this bridge a couple of times... But sadly, I never experienced anything paranormal, while I was there. It's a still a creepy looking bridge. I can see how it got's it reputation.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Feb 28, 2018 18:39:22 GMT
MCDemuthOddly enough, there’s another road right next to the Mt. Misery one I mentioned, called Sweet Hollow Road, which is also supposed to be haunted—and there’s a bridge, with a very similar story, there! Looks kinda similar, too. Anyhoo, I do find it amusing how similar all these legends are… (That’s why there are folklorists, I suppose.) Hey… that’s what this thread can be for: what are your local ghost stories and folklore? I was born on Long Island, which is filled to the brim with ghost stories, and I now live in Massachusetts, which probably has an equal number… I’m set! How about everyone else?
|
|
|
Post by MCDemuth on Feb 28, 2018 20:16:51 GMT
Hey… that’s what this thread can be for: what are your local ghost stories and folklore? Some More... I posted some information about... 1.) Skiles Edward Test's "House of Blue Lights" 2.) The Rivoli Theatre Here: imdb2.freeforums.net/post/272231
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Mar 2, 2018 18:59:21 GMT
|
|
|
Post by hi224 on Mar 5, 2018 13:22:52 GMT
I adore folklore, especially being up here in New England, where the very air is full of spirits (even on an uncharacteristically hot day like this one!). Somewhere around these boards, I offered my own retelling of the Jonathan Moulton story… Anyhoo, just found this blog— newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/2013/02/black-agnes-statue-that-kills.html—and it’s excellent. The story to which I’ve linked is “Black Agnes,” in Montpelier, Vt., and I found that particularly intriguing: I grew up on Long Island, NY, and near the town of Huntington there’s a supposedly haunted road, appropriately called “Mount Misery Road.” And, wouldn’t y’know, there’s a cemetery on the side of the road, with a Black Agnes statue and identical legend as well. Snopes tells us that several communities have “killing statue” legends, but I find it very curious that they should have the same name! This is a pretty fun thread.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Apr 16, 2018 18:00:17 GMT
There’s a Blair Witch-esque movie that came out in 2010 called YellowBrickRoad; I found it while researching folklore, and it has an interesting “ fakelore” backstory, but otherwise it doesn’t quite seem like my cup of tea. However, I’m writing about it here because that backstory intrigued me, and I’m wondering if anyone here may be able to help with a [possible] related puzzle. According to Wikipedia, YellowBrickRoad’s backstory runs thus: “In 1940 the entire town of Friar, New Hampshire, 572 people, abandoned their town and walked into the wilderness with only the clothes on their backs after a viewing of The Wizard of Oz, a film that the entire town was obsessed with. No one has ever been able to explain why they did this.” OK, that’s a neat story, but it’s obviously fiction—even leaving aside the fact that there is no town of Friar, New Hampshire. We know that the filmmakers made up that tale, just as the Blair Witch people made up an elaborate backstory for their movie. OK, fine, swell. Then why is this from 1948? It’s a mystery about an old New England family, in a small Vermont town, who abandon the town and “walk away” with only the clothes on their backs. The plotting isn’t particularly similar, but the general set-up seemed remarkably close to me, though I doubt the makers of YellowBrickRoad have read Wilders Walk Away. So my question is… Is there a q-source that links these two, a real New England legend I don’t know? I suppose it’s possible that both the YBR people and Herbert Brean hit upon a nigh-identical plot about a New England town, but it would be amazingly coincidental. The only thing I can find that is the legend of Dudleytown, CT, though that’s very tenuous. As always, thanks in advance, everyone!
|
|
Father Jack
Junior Member
@arsebiscuits
Posts: 2,407
Likes: 1,190
|
Post by Father Jack on Apr 17, 2018 15:01:15 GMT
There’s a Blair Witch-esque movie that came out in 2010 called YellowBrickRoad; I found it while researching folklore, and it has an interesting “ fakelore” backstory, but otherwise it doesn’t quite seem like my cup of tea. However, I’m writing about it here because that backstory intrigued me, and I’m wondering if anyone here may be able to help with a [possible] related puzzle. According to Wikipedia, YellowBrickRoad’s backstory runs thus: “In 1940 the entire town of Friar, New Hampshire, 572 people, abandoned their town and walked into the wilderness with only the clothes on their backs after a viewing of The Wizard of Oz, a film that the entire town was obsessed with. No one has ever been able to explain why they did this.” OK, that’s a neat story, but it’s obviously fiction—even leaving aside the fact that there is no town of Friar, New Hampshire. We know that the filmmakers made up that tale, just as the Blair Witch people made up an elaborate backstory for their movie. OK, fine, swell. Then why is this from 1948? It’s a mystery about an old New England family, in a small Vermont town, who abandon the town and “walk away” with only the clothes on their backs. The plotting isn’t particularly similar, but the general set-up seemed remarkably close to me, though I doubt the makers of YellowBrickRoad have read Wilders Walk Away. So my question is… Is there a q-source that links these two, a real New England legend I don’t know? I suppose it’s possible that both the YBR people and Herbert Brean hit upon a nigh-identical plot about a New England town, but it would be amazingly coincidental. The only thing I can find that is the legend of Dudleytown, CT, though that’s very tenuous. As always, thanks in advance, everyone! Whoever made Yellow Brick Road should just walk off in to the wilderness never to be seen again. What a clunker.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Apr 17, 2018 16:10:20 GMT
That bad, huh, Father Jack? As I said, I haven’t seen it, and it doesn’t seem like my cup of tea—but that backstory is neat for this amateur folklorist, at least, and I am intrigued by finding a q-source for it and Wilders Walk Away (which is a fun book).
|
|
Father Jack
Junior Member
@arsebiscuits
Posts: 2,407
Likes: 1,190
|
Post by Father Jack on Apr 17, 2018 16:17:40 GMT
That bad, huh, Father Jack? As I said, I haven’t seen it, and it doesn’t seem like my cup of tea—but that backstory is neat for this amateur folklorist, at least, and I am intrigued by finding a q-source for it and Wilders Walk Away (which is a fun book). It's not good. It's all over the shop bad... and I like low budget 'mystery' horror films where answers aren't necessarily forthcoming eg. Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Falling, Black Mountain, The Owlman. I think part of the problem is that it's a cool backstory, but totally shite execution.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Apr 17, 2018 19:16:19 GMT
Father Jack said:…which is, I suppose, part of the reason that I’m trying to find whence that backstory derives.
|
|
Father Jack
Junior Member
@arsebiscuits
Posts: 2,407
Likes: 1,190
|
Post by Father Jack on Apr 17, 2018 19:28:26 GMT
Father Jack said:…which is, I suppose, part of the reason that I’m trying to find whence that backstory derives. The back story of these tales is the pied piper fairy tale.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Apr 26, 2018 23:31:03 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Apr 26, 2018 23:55:55 GMT
Father Jack said:…which is, I suppose, part of the reason that I’m trying to find whence that backstory derives. The back story of these tales is the pied piper fairy tale. Ultimately, yes, probably. My curiosity was piqued, however, because the idea of different writers, at very different time periods, coming up with the same general concept of a small New England town that “walked away”… Well, I thought that was an extraordinary coincidence. It’s not a plot line one encounters every day.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Apr 27, 2018 0:02:24 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Apr 27, 2018 22:21:19 GMT
Here’s an interesting one, an old Beantown legend with an interesting coda. It’s a real legend, but I’ve fictionalized the first part, and… Well, you’ll see.
|
|
|
Post by pippinmaniac on Apr 28, 2018 2:37:52 GMT
My grandmother used to tell the grandkids about "Rawhead and Bloody-Bones".
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Apr 28, 2018 14:40:39 GMT
My grandmother used to tell the grandkids about "Rawhead and Bloody-Bones". Excellent! Anything particular you remember? I’m afraid I never really had any old legends passed down in my family, though we did have lots of family stories.
|
|
|
Post by pippinmaniac on Apr 28, 2018 20:18:48 GMT
About all I can remember is there were parts that sounded like Red Riding Hood.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on May 2, 2018 18:11:59 GMT
Hoping I’m not the only person reading my own thread, but…
Here’s another favorite old tale, this one from Old Salisbury, Mass., and taken mostly verbatim from Lewis A. Taft’s A Profile of Old New England (1965), an excellent book if you can find it.
|
|